Radiolarian micropalaeontology: extracting radiolaria from sediment

Professor Simon Haslett discusses extracting radiolarian microfossils from rocks and sediments. Radiolaria are marine single-celled organisms that possess a silica shell and are preserved in the fossil record. They can be collected from sediment accumulating on the sea-floor and retrieved through coring and extracted through sieving and chemical treatments. Radiolaria can be used in stratigraphy to date layers of rock and sediment through geological time, and also to reconstruct past environments and establish palaeoclimate history